Page froma Ragamala Series: Malara Ragini (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
The second consort of Megha in most ragamalas is Gaurmalara, frequently depicted as a woman who has abandoned her home, playing a vina in a remote setting and surrounded by wild animals soothed by her song. A variation on that imagery appears in this painting assigned by an inscription on its back to the Megha family. The same anguish of separated lovers is here personified as a frail, emaciated female ascetic seated on an antelope skin outside a monastery. Two deer gaze at her in sympathy as she counts prayer beads, meditating upon her beloved’s absence. Herons, agitated by the arrival of rain and lightning, flee a nearby tree. This picture comes from the same ragamala series as the similarly colored image of Kanada Ragini on the opposite wall of the gallery.
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